Variety reports that actress "Genesis Rodriguez is in final negotiations for the female lead in Kevin Smith's horror pic "Tusk."

Tusk, which commences principal photography in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 4, will star Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard, A Case of You) and cult favorite Michael Parks (Red State, Django Unchained). Smith will direct his own script, which evolved from Episode 259 of his long-running podcast with Scott Mosier, the award-winning SModcast. Tusk's horror story follows a podcaster who sets out to interview an eccentric, reclusive old seafarer, only to find himself a plaything in the gruesome plot of a deranged killer.

Smith wrote the 80-page screenplay while waiting for Bob Weinstein's approval of his Clerks III submission package. It was originally titled The Walrus & the Carpenter, but he changed it into a single-word title, saying he "knew what a movie about a walrus had to be called." The film is set in Bifrost, Manitoba.

The movie was originally to be produced by Blumhouse but due to Smith's expedited timeline for filming the two amicably parted ways. Tusk was eventually financed by Demarest Films and is planned to be released by January 2014. Smith aims towards being programmed at Sundance 2014.

Génesis Rodríguez Pérez is known for her roles in the Telemundo television series Prisionera, Dame Chocolate and Doña Bárbara. She also played Becky Ferrer on Days of our Lives. She has also starred in the films Man on a Ledge, Casa de Mi Padre, What to Expect When You're Expecting, and The Last Stand.